ABSTRACT
Studies of the Lebanese parliamentary elite reveal inconsistent and paradoxical tendencies. One such striking feature is the wide discrepancy between the changing backgrounds of the deputies and the continuities in their political behaviour and orientations. The rapid socio-economic transformations Lebanon has witnessed, particularly during the past few decades, have broadened processes of elite recruitment and circulation. They have drawn a more literate, professional and skilled elite into the body politic and politicised a growing segment of the population. Such changes, however, have not been accompanied by any perceptible change in political attitudes and behaviour of the elite. Nor have they rendered parliament more effective as a legislative body.
